Top mens tennis player Naim Azhar achieved a milestone at this weeks Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III tournament in Bolivia.

The Bermudians singles victory over Panamas Jose Gomez was his first in Davis Cup play and perhaps one of his hardest fought after being pushed all the way on centre court at the Club de Tenis La Paz.

Azhar prevailed 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) in the Group B match that saw both sets decided on tie-breakers.

It was a very special moment for me, Azhar told The Royal Gazette. To win a match in the name of my country has been a dream of mine for quite some time. Hopefully its the first of many.

Gomez won the toss and held serve in the opening game of the first. After falling behind 40-15 serving in the next game Azhar regained his footing to hold and even the set at 1-1 with some huge serves.

Both players then held serve the rest of the way to force the set into a tie-breaker which Azhar eventually won 7-4.

Gomez broke Azhars serve twice early in the second set to storm into a commanding 5-2 lead before his Bermudian rival staged a remarkable comeback with his back against the wall.

With his opponent serving for the set, Azhar dug deep and won the next three games to even the set at 5-5 and then held serve to surge into a 6-5 lead.

However, Gomez held serve in the next game to force another tie-breaker which Azhar won 9-7 to clinch his maiden Davis Cup win at the fourth attempt.

Naim fought hard in the tie-breaker and found strength from within to win his first ever Davis Cup singles match, commented Bermudas non-playing captain and coach Ricky Mallory. With a do or die mentality Naim stayed composed.

Mallory added: To win a match or a fixture against another country is a huge accomplishment for any player. I am proud of Naims achievement, not only because he won it for Bermuda, but the way in which he won; overcoming the elements and fighting back from the brink of defeat in his first Davis Cup match.

Rather than keep all the credit to himself, Azhar heaped praise on his team-mates and coach Mallory for helping him to realise a dream.

Without the support of the team and some crucial advice from coach Mallory this special moment would not have been possible, he said.

Despite Azhars heroics Bermuda slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Panama who are ranked 14 places above the Island in the ITF Davis Cup nations rankings.

Bermuda are currently ranked 123rd along with Yemen.

Bermuda also lost their round robin matches against Costa Rica (2-1) and Bahamas (3-0) which dashed any hopes of promotion to Americas Group II.

Azhar wins in first Davis Cup match

What youNeed toKnow

1. For a smooth experience with our commenting system we recommend that you use Internet Explorer 10 or higher, Firefox or Chrome Browsers. Additionally please clear both your browser's cache and cookies - How do I clear my cache and cookies?
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service